I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of the Downton Abbey Movie as I’m sure some of you have been as well. It just so happens that our local renovated and Historic Alameda Theater was having a special event to celebrate the opening of the Film on Thursday September 19th. And as it happens, there were two other Vintage-y events happening the same weekend.
Setting my hair more than once in a week is unheard of. I usually only do it once a month or so. Ha Ha! I’m a vintage muggle most of the time. In any case, each event was worth it so read on to see and hear how the weekend went. I’ll give you a hint, I had a lot of fun!
Movie Review time - I’ve seen it twice so far and would see it again, just for the costumes. But really, the story translated beautifully to the big screen. The scenes and dialogue perfectly executed. The Dowager Countess of Grantham, played by Dame Maggie Smith was superb in witty repartee with Cousin Isobel. And everyone, including Thomas, seemed to be traveling toward happiness.
I wore my Preservation Ball dress which is a dress of my own design based on sketches from the late 1920’s
This is Frannie & Steven. I see them at almost all the vintage events I go to, including Miss Fisher Con. They are a fantastic couple who alway look spot on!
I’m pictured her with my friend Karen Tierney who is a dressmaker and textile restoration expert. She is wearing true vintage from the early 1920’s.
This is my dear friend Grace who you might have seen in my post Tales of Gatsby Past. Grace is wearing a “vintage inspired” new dress and looked gorgeous as always. She’s also terrific at styling!
I set my hair that morning and walked around with clips on my head most of the day. I’m getting a lot more practice with vintage hair lately and improving my technique each time. Thank you Julie Ann Silverman (aka @Miss.Silver.Startlight) for all the great vintage hair classes.
The feet are mine after I put my stockings on. Both had holes in the toes, which is so annoying. If the holes get any bigger, it can ruin the stockings. I got a needle and thread and mended them there and then, while on my feet. It was easy to just stitch up the hole and now, you can barely tell they’ve been mended. the left toe has been mended in the photo, while the right, illustrates the hole.
The next night (Friday) was the Stone Mountain and Daughter “So long Summer” party. They served drinks, had a raffle and I got to meet a couple other sewing business owners, which was terrific. My friend Tina tagged along with me and we had a terrific time looking at fabric and enjoying the evening. I wasn’t very vintage-y but I did wear #memade so I felt like I was doing a good job representing the shop. I wore my 4th of July outfit with a hand knitted cardigan which you can read more about here:
http://www.thesewingroomalameda.com/blog/2019/7/16/sewing-my-4th-of-july-outfit-a-finished-sweater
and
http://www.thesewingroomalameda.com/blog/2018/9/17/vintage-style-knitted-lace-cardigan-
Moving on to Saturday, the event du jour was “A Night at Rics in Casablanca” - Charity night at The Elks Lodge, benefitting local charities. Several of my pals were attending, so I could not resist. It was a fun night of dressing up, cocktails and fake gambling. Tamara Hilton decorated the event as if it were in Morocco, and most of the men in tuxedos. I wish I taken photos inside, but it was very dark and moody.
I wore a Blue Lace late 1930’s dress with matching belt and pink shoes. I made some hair flowers on Friday which were a nice touch to my outfit, along with my grandmother’s blue pearls.
Sunday arrived and I’m getting tired just writing about it. ha ha! Just kidding. Today was the Alameda Legacy Home tour. The Alameda Preservation Society holds this tour every year in September. My mom and I absolutely love going on home tours. It’s so fun to see how people decorate their homes and what they’ve done haven’t done to preserve the historic nature of the home. Our little town is full of home dating between 1880-1950 and there are wonderful examples of each of the eras on the tour.
This year, there were 8 homes on the tour and only on the East end of the Island. Two of the homes, including the one pictured above, were right around the corner from The Sewing Room. I walk past them all the time and it was super fun to see inside. I also got to see inside my favorite house on the island, which is a 1920’s terra-cotta colored Spanish delight with striped awnings and moorish tile. You can see photos of all the homes by reading this article from The East Bay Times.
And here I am in front of Alameda’s first All Electric Home built in the 1930’s. It had so many great art deco details inside including built-in lighting in the walls.
Now my feet need a soak! My mom and I climbed 6 flights of stairs and walked over 5,000 steps. It was a fun afternoon and we loved every minute of it.
Until next time, happy Vintage Adventures!
xo
Jennifer
